To fill out Virginia Form 763-S, pick the exemption category that matches your situation in Step I, enter the total Virginia tax withheld from Box 17 of your W-2 in Step II, sign the form, and mail it with copies of every W-2 showing Virginia withholding to P.O. Box 1498, Richmond, VA 23218-1498. The form is a one-page nonresident claim used to recover Virginia income tax an employer withheld from someone who did not owe it, either because of a reciprocity agreement or a payroll error.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld It cannot be e-filed. Print it, complete it, and mail it.
Before You Start
Have these in front of you:
- Every W-2 that shows Virginia tax withheld in Box 17. You will mail copies with the form.
- Your Social Security number, and your spouse’s if applicable. Each spouse who had Virginia tax withheld files a separate 763-S.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld
- The employer’s name, federal EIN, and address from the W-2.
- Military spouse claimants: your spousal military ID and your spouse’s duty station information.
- Bank routing and account numbers, if you want direct deposit instead of a mailed check.
Download the current-year form from tax.virginia.gov. The tax year on the form must match the year the withholding happened.
Step I: Pick Your Exemption Category
Enter the tax year at the top, then your name, Social Security number, and mailing address. Step I lists four exemption categories. Write the number of the one that fits you in the box provided. You are signing the declaration for that category under penalty of law, so read it before you commit.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld
Category 1: DC or Kentucky Commuter
You live in the District of Columbia or Kentucky, you commute into Virginia and return home the same day, and your only Virginia-source income is wages or salary. Check the box for DC or KY.
Category 2: Maryland, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia Domiciliary
You are a resident of Maryland, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia and all three of these are true: your only Virginia income is wages and salaries, you did not maintain a place of abode in Virginia (a house or apartment), and you were present in Virginia for no more than 183 days during the tax year.2Virginia Tax. Reciprocity Going over 183 days while also keeping a Virginia place of abode can make you a statutory resident under Virginia Code 58.1-302, which disqualifies you from using this form.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-302 – Definitions Check the box for MD, PA, or WV.
Category 3: Military Spouse
Under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, you qualify if your spouse is stationed in Virginia on military orders, you are in Virginia solely to be with your spouse, and you keep your legal domicile in another state.4Scott Air Force Base. Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Fact Sheet You can elect your spouse’s domicile, your own domicile, or your spouse’s permanent duty station as your state of residence for tax purposes. Enter that two-letter state abbreviation on the form. Fill out the second page first, since it collects the service details Category 3 depends on, then come back to Step I.
Category 4: Withheld in Error
You are not a Virginia domiciliary or legal resident, you performed no services in Virginia, and your employer withheld Virginia tax anyway. This is the payroll-mistake category, not a reciprocity category. Enter the two-letter abbreviation for your actual state of residence.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld
Step II: Enter the Refund Amount
Enter the total Virginia tax you want refunded. That figure comes from Box 17 of your W-2. If more than one employer withheld Virginia tax, add the Box 17 amounts together and enter the combined total as a single number. The form has no per-W-2 line; the W-2 copies you attach are the backup.
If you are amending an already-filed 763-S, enter the full corrected refund amount as it should have appeared originally, not just the difference.
Direct Deposit and Signature
Below Step II, you can fill in your bank’s routing number, your account number, and whether it is a checking or savings account. Leave that section blank and the Department of Taxation will mail a paper check to the address at the top of the form.1Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld
Sign and date. When each spouse files a separate 763-S, only the person whose withholding is being claimed signs that copy.
Where to Mail It and When It’s Due
Send the completed form and copies of every W-2 with Virginia withholding to:
Virginia Department of Taxation
P.O. Box 1498
Richmond, VA 23218-14981Virginia Department of Taxation. Virginia Form 763-S – Virginia Special Nonresident Claim For Individual Income Tax Withheld
Virginia’s individual income tax deadline is May 1, not the federal April 15. Form 763-S follows the same May 1 due date. Keep copies of the form and every W-2 you send.
Stop the Withholding for Next Year
Form 763-S recovers tax already withheld. It does nothing about next year’s paychecks. To turn the withholding off at the source, give your employer a completed Form VA-4, the Employee’s Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate.5Virginia Department of Taxation. Employee’s Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate Check Line 3 for the reciprocity exemption (DC or Kentucky commuter, or Maryland, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia domiciliary). Military spouses check Line 4 and attach a copy of the spousal military ID. VA-4 has to be filed with your employer for each calendar year you claim the exemption, so renew it every January.
After You Mail It
Paper returns take up to 10 weeks to process, and volume around the May deadline pushes many refunds toward the far end of that window. After a few weeks, check status through Virginia Tax’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool online or by calling 804-367-2486; both run around the clock and show the same information a representative would give you.6Virginia Tax. Where’s my Refund? If the department needs more documentation, they contact you by mail. The two things that most often hold up a 763-S are a missing W-2 copy and a Step II figure that does not match what your employer reported to the state, so verify your total against Box 17 before mailing.
File Only If You Qualify
The declarations on Form 763-S are signed under penalty of law. Willfully supplying false or fraudulent information on a withholding exemption certificate is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia Code 58.1-471, and filing a fraudulent return to claim a refund carries additional consequences under Virginia Code 58.1-452.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-471 – Fraudulent Withholding Exemption Certificate or Failure to Supply Information8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 58.1-452 – Fraudulent Returns; Criminal Liability; Penalty Use the form only if you genuinely fit one of the four categories.
One boundary worth flagging: getting the Virginia withholding back does not cancel your obligation to report those wages on your home state’s return. Reciprocity means the income is taxed once, in your state of domicile, so you still include the wages there.